The State of Trench Crusade Miniatures: A Barrier to Entry
For those eagerly anticipating the chance to play Trench Crusade with official miniatures, we have some unfortunate news. Factory Fortress, Inc., the game's developers, have informed us that they will not allow us to sell these models in any capacity. However, they have left the door open to reconsider in the future.
As of now, they have chosen to limit the availability of physical miniatures exclusively to their Kickstarter backers and, starting in June or later, sales through MyMiniFactory’s Only-Games platform. While prioritizing backers is understandable, Only-Games has received mixed reviews regarding print quality, long and opaque lead times, and customer satisfaction due to the nature of it's business.
If you believe Trench Crusade miniatures should be more accessible, we encourage you to sign the petition here to let Factory Fortress know that players want the option to buy from sources they know and trust either locally or on webstores such as ours.
Why Access to Trench Crusade Miniatures Is So Limited
Despite raising millions of dollars on Kickstarter, Trench Crusade lacks an easy and reliable way for players to obtain official miniatures. Every other wargame, no matter the investment required, at least provides an entry point. Right now, if you want to play using official Trench Crusade models, you must:
- Be a Kickstarter backer who received them through a pledge.
- Purchase through Only-Games, which has a questionable reputation for fulfillment and service.
- Use proxy models—an option that provides flexibility but lacks the intended experience of the creators.
- Print them yourself, which requires:
- A 3D printer and necessary post-processing equipment.
- Resin, which can be hazardous and costly.
- A safe, ventilated workspace.
- Time and effort to achieve quality results.
Adding to the frustration, Factory Fortress released the STL files for printing months before offering physical miniatures. While this approach supports hobbyists with 3D printers, it has also led to an influx of unauthorized sellers printing and distributing the models. We sought written permission to sell legitimate, officially licensed miniatures, but Factory Fortress refused—despite acknowledging that third-party sellers are already violating their terms.
The developers offer the game’s rules for free, but the cost and effort required to field an army rival, or even exceed, that of traditional wargames where physical models are readily available. Many players in our community have voiced concerns about handling resin or simply not wanting to invest in 3D printing. As it stands, players must either spend hundreds setting up a resin printing station or turn to unlicensed alternatives.
The Real Cost of Playing Trench Crusade
To put this into perspective, let’s compare the costs of starting Trench Crusade (outside of being a Kickstarter backer) with another popular skirmish game, Kill Team from Games Workshop:
Kill Team: Hivestorm Starter Set – $230 MSRP
- Includes two full teams, terrain, and rules.
- Ready to play out of the box (minus assembly).
- No additional equipment required.
Printing Trench Crusade Miniatures
- Entry-level resin printer (e.g., Elegoo Saturn 3): $400+
- Curing & washing station: $150+
- Starter resin (1kg, enough for a few squads): $40-60
- Filters, gloves, cleaning alcohol, safety setup: $100+
- Total: ~$700+ before printing even begins
This estimate doesn’t include misprints, resin failures, or maintenance costs. The idea that Trench Crusade is more affordable than traditional wargames quickly falls apart when you factor in the real costs.
The one silver lining is that Factory Fortress has officially stated they support proxies, even mentioning it in their FAQ. However, while proxies provide an option, they can only go so far. The real draw of Trench Crusade is its immersive lore and artwork—something that players want reflected in their miniatures.
Why This Matters & What Needs to Change
At Wargame Portal, we are committed to providing gamers with affordable access to miniatures, tools, and games. While we respect Factory Fortress’ vision, the current distribution model creates unnecessary hurdles for players who simply want to enjoy Trench Crusade.
Most players want official miniatures that match the game’s lore and artwork. While hobbyist level 3D printing is an option for some, many do not have the resources, space, or desire to handle hazardous materials just to build an army. Relying solely on Only-Games—especially given its spotty track record—further limits accessibility.
We don’t want Trench Crusade to lose momentum due to avoidable barriers. If Factory Fortress is serious about supporting its community, they should reconsider their stance and allow alternative methods for purchasing ready-to-play miniatures from trusted sources.
Make Your Voice Heard: Sign the Petition
If you agree that Trench Crusade miniatures should be more accessible—sold through reliable retailers and available in a ready-to-play format—sign the petition now. Let Factory Fortress know that players should not have to invest hundreds of dollars into 3D printing or rely on a single fulfillment service with a questionable reputation.
We welcome discussion, so if you disagree, let us know in the comments. More than anything, we want Trench Crusade to thrive, and that won’t happen if access to its miniatures remains so restrictive.
12 comments
you won’t let us make money off your stuff, so we’re going to write an article criticizing you heavily
Bit petty really.
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Wargame Portal replied:
We could have been like the other hundreds of Etsy stores and other pop up stores and violated their terms to give our customers what they asked for, considering they have not done much to curtail it. However, we decided against that and be above water with them and keep things legitimate. You and anyone out there can freely purchase from these sources as you see fit! We are just reporting to our customers who’ve been following our original blog post about it, and eagerly awaiting for these, with where we are with it now, but understand your point! Thanks for your comment!
If they released the minis to other third party distributers right now, Kickstarter backers who ordered physical miniatures would rightfully be screaming bloody murder and the wargaming press would be crucifying them.
If you don’t have a 3d printer I understand the frustration, but likely you know someone who does or you can send the STLs to a printing shop yourself and there are plenty online.
Alternatively use proxy models or kitbash from your pile of potential, you honestly don’t need the ones based on the official art at all.
The article honestly feels disingenuous and like you have an issue with the outcome of your Comms with the tiny team at FFInc.
These arrangements have been in place since the KS was announced, and for a KS they are delivering physical minis in frankly record time for a game whose rules are still in playtest.
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Wargame Portal replied:
That’s why we mention that in the body of the post, which we trust you read through. We totally understand their reasoning, and agree with it. Those that backed should get them first, no doubt! There is a glaring issue with that, as we discuss the rampant availability of these models anyway, from unethical actors in the space. However, we’ve seen basically no ire pointed at these print shops or the wargaming press go after them as you suggest would happen.
We’ve had customers for months asking us to source these models somehow, but we want to do it the right way. Sadly, with how many unauthorized merchants are pumping these out now, it may be a moot point by the time they come around to it. As it stands, stores like ours that try and do things the right way are now 5-6+ months behind unethical actors in the space printing these STLs and frankly screwing over Factory Fortress in the process. Sure, they made the sale on the STL file, but miss out on royalties, don’t get to approve quality, etc. We alerted them to the practice and they say they are attempting to stop it.
We’re sorry you feel it’s disingenuous, but we want to be as transparent with our customers who have been demanding these models for a while. We’d rather let our customer base know what happened rather than leaving them hanging. That’s not something we value here. Like you, we also wanted to share our overall opinions on the matter as well.
We appreciate your response and opinions!
I am painting my first wb and I prob spend 30£ having models to kitbash another one. I have no 3d printer and none is needed. You could also spend less with only proxies without kitbashong…
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Wargame Portal replied:
We agree! It’s why we mentioned those methods in this same post.
Our post is more directed at our customer base that has been asking for us to try and source the official models, but we, like the creators, urge proxies and other methods to those that want to go that route!
Thanks for your input.
Okay, yes that does suck.
However, for those of us who DO have a 3D printer set up already (your setup costs estimates are on the conservative side) where do we who missed the Kickstarter, get the official Trench Crusade STL files?
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Wargame Portal replied:
Sadly they’ve already closed those, so now anyone who missed out on the first and/or late pledge is just out of luck. It closed on the 13th according to the page on My Mini Factory. You will either have to wait for them to be made available again (no time table on that currently) or source them elsewhere or go for proxies.
Printology gave us those estimates, so they tend to be pretty accurate. Out of curiosity, the owner actually just went to amazon yesterday and searched “resin 3d printer,” and came up with an average of $466 from all the ones listed on the first page of results. Seems like they had it pretty spot on.
Just one question – how much did it cost to GW to have this article here 🤔 ?
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Wargame Portal replied:
We imagine it would be nonsensical for a company to pay to have an article promoting a different product. However, based on the context here, we appreciate the attempted humor and ribbing.
We are just reporting our findings, sharing some facts, and opining on the situation because we told customers we would be trying to stock Trench Crusade (the blog post was from last month if you’re curious). Hopefully we, and stores like ours, get to start carrying this once they are done with their kickstarter pledges!
Good to know. I missed out on the Kickstarter and was looking for other places I could get the minis. Sad to know that just won’t be happening. I am one of those people that would love to get a 3d printer, but it’s not even a matter of money, it’s a matter of a lack of space and place to store resin. I just don’t have a place to run a 3d printer, vent the fumes, and keep a toxic substance in a safe way. If I had a spare room, sure, but I just don’t. Hopefully the petition gets some movement happening sooner rather than later.
Thanks for the update y’all.
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Wargame Portal replied:
Thanks for your input!
We hope the petition at least shows there’s a real demand for these outside of the Kickstarter release at the very least. This isn’t solely for us, it’s just to give the devs some idea that stores like ours are serious about stocking the models. With popular podcasts in our spaces hyping up the lore and game, the demand is only going to increase, while the supply is basically non-existant for another 4-5+ months. This of course causes more of these unlicensed vendors to keep churning them out too, but that’s another issue entirely.
Your sentiments on resin printing is also one we see a lot of in either our own internal polling, external polling (like Auspex Tactics) or just general discussion Reddit, and other forums. It’s a great hobby, one which we fully support, but the reality is just not everyone can do it for one reason or another.
While I understand your argument, the “cost of entry” is willfully misleading. Entry level printers are less than $200, sunlu brand resin is $20 for 1kg and wash and cure setups can be done on a budget. The true cost of entry for the budget conscious is much closer to the price of a games workshop set, plus the added value of the 3D printing hobby.
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Wargame Portal replied:
Thanks for your inputs! We understand where you are coming from, but those numbers are based on averages for hobby printers and materials based on the averages Printology gave us. 3D printing is a great hobby for those that can afford it and have the space to do it safely, we agree completely. However, the reason we use the average prices in general is because on average most consumers will not settle on an entry level unit in the end run. That’s the info we got from getting customer/community feedback, so take from that what you will.
Personally, I like the philosophy that the development team took. Sure, 3D printing is an option (though using the cost of setting up a whole 3D printing setup as an example of entry to the game is ludicrous, it’s hardly a one off purchase without another use.). Kitbashing and creating your own minis is a driving factor behind the ethos of the game. I have a 3D printer and I still kitbashed my own Prussian New Antioch force.
Get creative!
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Wargame Portal replied:
We totally agree! Being creative is great, but according to our customer feedback and general research on this, and just 3d printed proxies/kitbashing in general, is that they’d usually take the official over the kitbash. We even took from our affiliate Auspex Tactic’s recent video on 3d printing that showed a pretty mixed reception overall to 3d printing from how they use them to the barrier to entry.
Our main points in this are that if you want to currently play Trench Crusade with official models you have to invest or already own 3d printers. As we state, we are all for and like that the dev team encourages proxies and being creative.
Fair point but…. You do not need a $400 printer nor a wash and cure station at all to print this… :p
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Wargame Portal replied:
We understand where you’re coming from for sure! However, we are not going to suggest anyone engage in 3d printing in manners like this that result in poor quality results or in an unsafe workspace by handling poorly cleaned/cured materials, so our averages given reflect that mentality and standard.
They’re a business that has entered in to a distribution agreement that is likely exclusive.
And that printer cost argument is pretty spacey. If you make the argument that the only thing you intend to print is Trench Crusade, then yes. Its a poor deal. But the printer will recover cost over time, as most tooling expenditures do.
Frankly, this whole thing reads like a professional attempt at a tantrum.
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Wargame Portal replied:
They indicated to us that they are interested in entertaining merchant licences later, as we stated rather clearly, it’s just that the only people getting phystical miniatures (as it stands) are the backers and those that shop on only-games, which is supposed to be sometime in June or later. With the availability of the STLs 5+ months in advance, to no surprise, there are curretly hundreds and more growing by the day it seems, of unauthorized dealers selling these with abandon regardless of the developers wishes.
The argument about printing is more based on feedback we’ve received, and general research from exploring the internet, reviewing poll data from affiliates like Auspex Tactics and more. The idea is pointed to thsoe that do not already have everything set up. It would go without saying that established 3D printing hobbyist aren’t the target of this article.
We are all for engaging with our community, and understand that you see this as a “tantrum,” but we are just providing clairty because we had told customers in a blog post last month that we would be working on carrying the product, and we are reporting the results of that work for them to see for themselves.
I love so far how the game seems to work. I can’t wait for minis to come out available to buy.
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Wargame Portal replied:
While our in store shoppers haven’t been too interested in playing, so we don’t have much playtesting, we agree that it seems super fun and a good game to get into!
Hopefully we, or other sources can sell the official models soon in a legit and legal manner so that everyone can enjoy them.
Very well worded. Makes a lot of sense. Hopefully they will have a change of heart.
On Sat, 15 Feb 2025 16:52:29 0600 <Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com> wrote --———
Wargame Portal replied:
Thank you! We hope so too. While we don’t really understand the approach, we are here and ready for when they (maybe) come around to the idea.